I WAS sad to hear of the death of Peter Falk last week (Echo, June 25).

Not only did he play one of the best TV detectives – Columbo – but he was also a great actor.

I think Columbo was a part he was born to play, but he was not first choice. They offered it to Bing Crosby first.

Columbo was one of my favourite detectives. He never resorted to violence, never swore and never wore a gun.

He used his brain to solve crimes like a modern-day Sherlock Holmes. He was always one step ahead of the suspects.

I hardly missed an episode when it was first recorded in the Seventies.

Strange to think Peter Falk first started making movies playing a gangster. If he had been born in the same era as George Raft, Edward G Robinson, Humphrey Bogart and, my personal favourite, James Cagney, he would not have been out of place.

So rest in peace Peter, you were one of the greats.

Mick Peacock, Coxhoe.